


Heat and Steel

by EgoDominusTuus



Series: Like Good Soldiers [16]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: But With Wolves, Gang Bang, Guilt, M/M, Multi, Paladin Danse (yet again) has issues, Paladin Danse is confused, Psychic Wolves, Psychic Wolves For Lupercalia, Rape, Two Sole Survivors Au, dub-con, heat - Freeform, non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:05:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5992603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgoDominusTuus/pseuds/EgoDominusTuus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danse is a good Soldier, but he's a better friend. Still, friendship can't stop a Heat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heat and Steel

I never thought that I would question an order from Maxson - the fact that I was now leading in the opposite direction of a location he’d designated was unprecedented. But I couldn’t do it - he’d wanted me to bring Silas King and Quinn to an isolated bunker, so that members of the Brotherhood could spirit them back to him, just in time for the heat of their wolves. The two females seemed to realize that something was astray; Valeriya’s snowy fur was sticking up, and Seraphina stuck close to her side, her amber eyes scanning the surrounding area as though she expected an attack.

  And yet, somehow, I was doing my best to make sure that the attack  _ didn’t  _ happen. Maxson had designated a specific bunker-- and I rarely made mistakes, but I was certainly going to make one this time. I led the boys in the opposite direction, still struggling with whether or not I intended to tell them of Maxson’s ploy.

  There was a part of me, a very small part, that couldn’t blame him. Quinn and Silas stood strong and proud, two stark and perfect examples of military composure. Even I could admit that trying to hide some form of desire for them was absolutely foolish. It was the wolfbitches that they brought with them that had really caught Maxson’s eye. The wolves of the Brotherhood were mainly large males, though there were females for breeding purposes. However, none of them looked like Seraphina and Valeriya. The two females were smaller, but somehow seemed more lithe and agile than our wolves-- likewise, the crystal blue of Silas’ sister’s eyes, and the tawny fur that covered Seraphina was uncommon, beautiful… and something that Maxson seemed to covet. He wanted to breed his wolf, Nikolaus, exclusively to the two females. I could see that greedy, lustful look in his gaze upon receiving his orders… and something inside of me realized that it was  _ wrong. _

__ I knew that the two would go into heat, and there wasn’t a way to avoid it. I even knew that their bodies would be craving the attention - but I wouldn’t let it come from Maxson. It was far too akin to a staged  _ rape,  _ and the Elder that I had followed with blind trust and faith simply wouldn’t do that.

  But he was, and I had to save him from himself - desire was leading him astray from the path that I knew he meant to walk. I told myself that this was the reason that I was deliberately disobeying his orders, if only to convince my own conscience and peace of mind that it had nothing to do with Quinn’s full-lipped smile, and the way that Silas would look at me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. I had to push those thoughts out of my head as we continued our trek.

  “This seems a little out of the way for a Super Mutant den,” Quinn’s voice was full of the grouch that he was feeling at being  _ woken up _ . I had a feeling that I’d actually interrupted the two during private time, and he still hadn’t recovered from the fact. Silas simply let out a low chuckle. 

  “We’ll get through with this before you know it. We need to be heading back to Sanctuary soon after, though.” I heard a thread of anxiety in his voice, and I wondered if it had to do with the fact that he knew their wolves’ heat was coming on soon. I felt guilt that I’d ever let Maxson know that it was happening - it certainly hadn’t been a topic that I’d brought up intentionally. I’d been discussing the logistics of their plan, since Seraphina and Valeriya seemed to be in perfect synchronization both on the battlefield and in their own, personal biology. They told me that, much to Silas King’s dismay, they were going to lock themselves up in confinement quarters, because having to worry about the wolves having puppies when they were so close to getting into the Institute wasn’t something that they intended to let happen.

  I’d felt it then, the way that Maxson loomed close. I saw his eyes covetously slip across first Silas and then Quinn, before his hand came down to Nikolaus’ head in a slow stroke. His dark eyes turned to Valeriya and Seraphina, who were curled neatly against one another in the corner. I think I guessed, even then, what his intentions were… but I hadn’t wanted to admit it.

  Now, I was struggling with the need to admit it to Quinn and Silas. If I didn’t tell them now, then Maxson would just wait until the wolves went into heat again - I knew him well enough to know that he could be patient and tactical when necessary. Somehow, they had to be warned, or the situation would just repeat itself.

  Disloyalty to the Elder of the Brotherhood, however, was tugging guilt at the strings of my heart. I’d traveled with the two men beside me more in the past few months than I had with anyone since Cutler… and I could remember the way that the light had gone out in his eyes when I’d had to put him down… I could remember the way that insanity had pulled at Cecila, his sweet gray wolf, when her brother had… I wasn’t going to think about it. I wouldn’t. I  **couldn’t** .  

  I had to jerk myself violently away from those thoughts. I couldn’t betray the men who stood beside me any more than I could their wolves. Maxson was wrong on this - I was saving them all from a poor decision. 

  “It’s not much further now.” Once we were there… maybe I could say something to them then. Beside me, Seraphina let out a long, low whine. Quinn’s eyes instantly turned down to her, his dark brows hiking slowly. His green gaze turned to Silas, whose attention was rapt and full on the white canine at his side. 

  “What’s wrong?” But even as I asked the question, I could see the answer like a written scarlet letter across their features. Their features, which had slowly been going flush in our travels, seemed to be scorching now. I’d attested it to the physical labor of the Commonwealth, but the whimpering, whining of their wolves was telling me that it was something altogether different.

   Silas had mentioned the possibility of cryogenic sleep throwing off the timetable of his estimate. There was a part of me that was relieved - Maxson wasn’t going to be able to follow through with his plan now, whether he liked it or not. At the same time, there was a part of me that was more than just a little anxious. After all, we weren’t so far from the Prydwen yet that their heat might not be noticed. My brows pulled into a sharp line and I heard the urgency in my voice. “We need to go,  _ now _ .” 

  “What’s wrong?” Quinn seemed to be asking the question on multiple fronts, but I shook my head. I didn’t know how long it would take their desires to completely control the forefront of their mind, but I wasn’t going to take the time to figure it out. I’d never had a wolf - I had never known what a heat truly meant, and I didn’t want to figure it out in the middle of the Commonwealth, where anyone and everyone could demonstrate it to me by proxy of Silas and Quinn’s willing bodies. 

  The bunker that we were going for was only a quarter of a mile away, and our leisurely walk turned into a quick paced jog that just sent us crashing past the metal doors as I heard the howl of the Brotherhood Wolves spilling out in the distance.

  “Get into the elevator and get downstairs, now.” Quinn was looking at me with shock, but it was Silas who seemed to have latched on to the brevity of my words. He took Quinn by the hand, using his other to open the elevator. 

  “Valeriya, Seraphina, in. Now.” His voice was a clipped, harsh command, and even the wolves fell into line. I had a feeling that, if there was a pack order, Silas King was at the top. He cast me one long glance, and then stepped into the closed in box. I saw a moment of his nostrils flaring in discomfort, and then he pushed the button that sent them down below.

  I didn’t have enough time to secure the base. I’d intended to get everything locked down, shut tight… and now all that I could do was close the door and push the desk in front of it. My fingers sped quickly across the terminal in front of me - the turrets were programmed for warning shots. I wasn’t going to kill my Brothers over this, but I would certainly incapacitate them if necessary. I could even say that I did so on Maxson’s orders. 

_ Maxson’s orders…  _

__ If I didn’t let some of them through, then the wolves would just go into heat again. I couldn’t keep them all out - I didn’t even know how many would be coming… but I could do my best to make sure that the men and women who passed through were at least…

_ Worthy. _

__ The thought burned how in my chest, and for the first time in my life, firey envy that I didn’t have a wolf pulsed through me in a palpable wave that left a bad taste on the back of my tongue. I swallowed that bitterness and pulled my gun up as I heard the elevator slide back up to the floor. 

  The howling of the wolves drew closer, and I knew that things were about to begin. I ignored the quaking in my breath that told me I wasn’t ready for this, I wasn’t prepared for this. I didn’t have time to doubt my abilities, I only had time to protect  _ them.  _

__ The first wave of soldiers came through, and I saw snarling teeth and massive paws coming to the window in demand that I let them  _ in.  _ Even with the boys safely locked below, I knew that they could sense the need of their wolves, could smell them, could practically taste them. I couldn’t understand such driving, all-encompassing instincts, but I could appreciate the fact that it wasn’t really my Brothers who stood before me anymore. It was pure, animalistic instinct. They couldn’t even be held accountable for their actions - they hadn’t planned this. Not like Maxson had intended to. 

   I heard the shattering of glass, and the first wolf leaped through. A low growl pulsed through its chest in waves of tension, and the soldier that crawled in after had a crazed look in his eyes. “Where are they?”

_ Who are you?  _ My mind echoed as my laser rifle came up to catch him in the stomach. I caught his face, scanning my memory for details of his past. A Knight - a good man. Never gave Silas a look when he came aboard the ship, even though he wasn’t strictly allowed access to the lower levels. Quinn gave him smiles often enough that I had to let it pass. I took a few steps back, hand slamming against the elevator button, and I actually half threw him in. His wolf, eager and snarling at me, followed. The butt of my rifle hit the button and it sent them down. 

  Outside, I could hear an easy five more snarls from eager wolves… and if I could remember Squad assignments correctly, not all of them were people who Quinn or Silas would be okay with fucking once they were aware of their actions.

  “Damn it.” The word was a soft swear beneath my breath, and I steeled myself for the next entrant into the room.

  Big, beefy, with muddy brown eyes and a wolf whose pelt matched. He’d made snide comments to Quinn, and I knew that Silas had butted heads with him more than once. I had to think that Silas King, even in the state he was in, wouldn’t be okay with this somewhere inside of his own mind. 

  “Damn it,” the words spilled out again, and I raised the butt of my rifle to catch him under the chin. I saw a spark of pain flash through his eyes, and with a low growl, he tried to spill through the window. This time, my rifle caught him in the face, and his eyes slid shut. Before I even had a chance to catch a breath, his wolf spilled through the window - there was regret in me as I brought the rifle to give the canine the same treatment. It was just following instincts. 

  Still, it went careening out the window, and I knew that I wasn’t going to have to worry about those two for at least a little while. But before anything happened, two more were in their place, and I only had a split second to glance between them. One was tall, strong, with a harsh face, and the other was a slight Initiate, who had fear in his eyes and desperation on his features.

  “Not you--” I stepped between the Initiate and the elevator while the other man ran past me. My hand came up, power armor making it easy for me to lift him by his throat and throw him against the wall. His wolf, barely more than a pup itself, seemed to realize that its master had been bested, and retreated to the prone form. 

  “Stand aside, Paladin.” A harsh, furious voice spilled from the door, and with a few hard pounds of power-armored fists, the table that I’d pushed in front of it went sliding across.

  All troops had a Paladin, and I was facing one down now. More than that, the scar that nearly bisected his face gave him a harsh, twisted look… and the tall timber wolf that stood beside him had a snarl of fury across its features.

  This wasn’t going to be an easy fight, and I didn’t want Quinn and Silas to have to deal with men fighting over getting to fuck them.

  “Damn it.” My mantra, it seemed. 

  A power armored fist caught me in the jaw, sending me flying back. My distraction was the second round of howls in the distance. Of course, Maxson would have sent out two teams. He may have been prideful, but he wasn’t foolish - Quinn or Silas alone could take out a team if given any forewarning. Two teams would be best to secure both men. I had to handle the Paladin, and quickly… or I was going to get swarmed. I needed to get down, into the elevator - down to Quinn and Silas, so that I could funnel the men easier, control their descent. 

  I couldn’t disable the elevator, or they’d bring the place to the ground trying to find a way downstairs. I had to  _ control  _ the situation, even though I couldn’t  _ prevent  _ it.

  As a side bonus, the mating would take place, and Maxson wouldn’t be able to have the exclusive breeding rights that he seemed desperately to desire. I could warn the boys before their next heat. I could…

   I couldn’t do anything when Paladin Markus’ fist slammed into my chest and knocked the breath out me even through the steel of my armor. 

 One more time… one more time.

  “Damn it.”

  I brought my rifle up as he made a b-line past me for the door and sent one shot directly into his power core. A low sound spilled from his throat, and he had only a few seconds to make the decision of carrying forward or diving out of his power armor. Though his wolf dove for the elevator, some human instinct remained, and Markus ejected himself from the armor just as the core gave a sizzling crack and then exploded. 

  The time that it took him to vacate his armor was enough for me to bring my plasma rifle up. “Sorry, soldier.” And I meant the words as I said them, but I still pulled off a round. It took him in the shoulder, and my next the side of his chest. He let out a shout of pain and fury, and a few quick steps forward sent the boot of my power armor to the side of his face. He fell back, his eyes rolling, his body collapsing… and then the lunge of his wolf against my shoulder sent me falling back.

  It was sheer dumb luck that I could roll and tuck my body, so that the weight of my frame came down on the wolf, knocking the wind from it and letting me toss its limp body from me. I took a deep breath - I was handling this so far without seriously injuring anyone. But I knew that heats didn’t simply last for a day.

  Three to four days of this… and I didn’t know if Maxson would send out another wave of men when the first didn’t report. God, I hoped not - but the desperation and lusty gleam in his eyes told me that I was probably wrong. The howls that I heard in the distance were growing closer, and I knew that I didn’t have time to debate what I could or couldn’t do. I glanced around, thankful to find a few lines of cloth - clothing that I quickly turned into restraints. I took the time to tie both men and wolf that I didn’t want below up… and then I quickly made it to the elevator, depressing the button and sending myself down just as I heard the thunder of power armor and wolf paws in the distance. 

  My head turned up, my eyes almost scanning for someone to come through the closed elevator doors… but I could hear the whir of machinery, and I knew that I was descending, that I was at least a little safe. If I kept the elevator on my level, they’d have to come down the shaft - it would be a more controlled situation… and if I remembered correctly, there was a back room where Sil and Quinn had  _ hopefully  _ retreated. There was a jarring jolt at the elevator hit the lower floor, and I heard the ding of the doors a second before I heard something altogether  _ different. _

__ Low, aching moans of pleasure, snarls, growls, yips… and then a cry of pure ecstasy. I almost didn’t turn my head from the flush that was creeping up my face, but I couldn’t help myself. With my back pressed against the elevator wall, I had a clear vision of the back room - the window leading into it did nothing to block the bed in the back.

  The bed where Quinn and Silas were both bent, with the two men that I had let slip by me over them. Two asses were thrusting in unison, and beneath them, I could see the men that I’d been traveling with for the past few months with their bodies jerking in pleasure and  _ need.  _ The only thing that showed me that there was still any semblance of who they had been left was the way that Silas had Quinn’s hand in his own. But thrusting, writhing, sweating bodies made my stomach jerk into a knot - indignation and something  _ other  _ pulsed through my body, and I took two quick steps out of the elevator before jamming the door slightly open so that it wouldn’t ascend when called. It was hard to tear my gaze away from the sight of the taller Knight thrusting hard and fast into Silas’ core, while a frenzy of fur let me know that their wolves were getting exactly what they were after. 

  Indignant.

  Aroused. 

_ Damn it.  _ I didn’t know what in the hell I was feeling, but the squealing scrapes from above me let me know that I didn’t time to process the fuckery in the other room. The sound of Quinn’s sudden shout of orgasm, however, made it hard for me to pretend that I wasn’t processing it  _ anyway.  _

__ I had to tear my eyes away from looking back at him to see what was causing the low, aching groan to spill from his throat, because a hand spilled through the elevator, and I realized that it was time to get back to work.

_ But how could I work when I could hear Silas now, with his breath coming in sharper and sharper gasps, until they turned into a low moan that spilled into the very center of my stomach. Did he even want this? Would they be furious that I hadn’t stopped it? _

_   He sure as fuck seemed to want it. _

__ A hand scrambled at my throat, trying to push me aside as the Knight spilled into the room. Maxson, I had noticed, was sending all males for the squad - was it sexist, or did he simply want to take extra precautions? I knew how displeased he would be if something  _ were  _ to happen that caused one of our members to become pregnant. 

  I didn’t have time to  _ think  _ about it, because I could hear another one coming down the vent, and I only had a second to throw the man who scrambled at me behind me. His wolf darted around us both, and I heard snapping snarls as the males began to fight for access to the bitches. Worse, I heard a loud shout of protest as the men began to fight over  _ my  _ men. I risked a small glance back to see that Silas still held tight to Quinn’s hand as the man I’d just let pass through threw the other off and mounted the smaller man’s frame like he was the gunner seat of a Vertibird. Quinn let out one low wince, and then the sounds of his gasping moans of  _ need _ filled the air again.

  My stomach burned, and I could see a mixture of the red tinges of lust and furious indignation spilling in the corner of my vision. How could this be a  _ permittable  _ thing? I knew that these liaisons were usually arranged according to proper breeding protocol, but it seemed so…

  Inhumane. A low growl of fury spilled from my throat, and my fist came out to smash into the face of the next man who tried to get through without taking the time to even see who he was. A small wave of guilt tried to surface, but at the sound of Silas screaming out once more in pleasure, I lost the sensation entirely. I picked the man up and threw him across the room, to the corner. I’d have to look for something to secure him with later, but for now I had to handle the wolf that came spilling at my face. I grabbed it into a near bear-hug, squeezing the air from its smaller frame. Guilt, guilt… guilt, and the sound of Quinn screaming caused my arms to tighten until the wolf fell limp and unconscious in my arms. 

  The time that it had taken me to do that was too long, and the next wolf that went flying past me couldn’t be stopped, nor could its master - I didn’t know him. I didn’t know if he was okay, if he was someone that the boys despised, but I couldn’t stop him and incapacitate the wolf that I held, and I had to avert my gaze and focus my attention on the elevator shaft for the  _ next  _ contestant. Behind me, snarls and growls, both man and beast alike, filled the air - only to be tempered by the sound of Quinn letting out a scream of lusty, furious need. 

  My body felt so hot, and I couldn’t discern what emotion elicited the response any longer. I only knew that the situation was already beginning to spiral out of my control, and there were four men in the back room now that I was going to have to deal with when there was a lull in the troops that were being sent out. Hopefully, Maxson had only sent the two squads - it was the most logical choice, after all. 

 Hopefully, no one else was going to catch the scent of  _ my  _ boys, and come running for a piece… because if they weren’t Brotherhood, they weren’t going to get out of here alive. 

  I racked my mind in an attempt to put names to the faces in this squad, and I couldn’t. I hadn’t been with Silas and Quinn constantly, so I didn’t know how they felt about what was happening. I didn’t have any leg to stand on for their preferences, but I knew that there were at least three more men coming down the elevator shaft, and I wasn’t going to be able to stop all of them. The best that I could do was let instinct take over - though my instincts now were telling me that this was  _ wrong,  _ and that Quinn and Silas shouldn’t have been  _ fucking men they didn’t even know.  _

  “God damn it,” I added a little flavor to my words as I heard more movement in the elevator shaft. Eagerness was giving way to pure, animal instinct, because it wasn’t just one man who came at me this time - two wolves bounded at once, and I wasn’t ready for it. One darted past me in a quick motion, and I had to shove my body into the frame of the elevator to stop the other from slipping by. Worse, the two men who followed both had crude, wild looks in their eyes… and I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to keep them both at bay.

  There was no lesser of two evils, because I didn’t have any idea of either of them, more than to see that one had a rank of Knight, and the other Paladin. I frowned… and perhaps it was my own jealousy that forced me to grip the Paladin by the throat, dragging him from the elevator shaft and twisting my body with him so that the Knight had a free pass to get to the back room. The snarls and moans were intensifying, and I couldn’t shut the sound off, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn’t erase the mental image in my head of what must have been happening… but I could forcibly throw the Paladin against the wall, fingers shifting and twitching with fury and indignation to rip at the chassis of his armor, jerking his body forcibly from the frame when my fingers found the release switch. I threw him to the side, so that his body collided with that of his eager, sneaking wolf. The Paladin let out a roar of irritation, but I was having none of it. I dove forward, and I felt fist connect with jaw - and then there was nothing but a blur of hits, the sensation of pain as he pulled his pistol and fired rounds into my armor… and then the sound of Quinn and Silas screaming in pleasured tandem to spur me forward. 

  The Paladin lay at my feet, unconscious with his wolf beside him… and I knew that, though I had a few moments to pause, there was no time to rest. 

  I began to move, doing my best to keep my eyes averted from the other room and failing miserably. My gaze continued to flick to the room; Silas and Quinn were still side by side, but there were multiple men crawling hot and needy against their frames, mouth trying to find purchase of pleasure wherever possible. My stomach was still burning with ire, jealousy, or sickened bile. I wasn’t sure which. I didn’t have time to worry about my emotions - my hands seized my fallen Brother’s and I brought them one by one into the elevator. Above, I knew there were two weapon lockup cages, and that was exactly where they were going.

  I couldn’t stop all of this from happening, but I could damn well do something to make it a little easier.

  At least, that’s what I told myself as I threw the last limp body into the elevator and pushed the button to close the doors - even through the metal, I could hear the throng of moans and whimpers, chased by screams of desire. The sound pulsed through  me, and chased me to the upper floor. My muscles were already screaming as I lifted the men and began to throw them into the cage. As the last of my Brothers was closed behind the steel mesh door, I heard a sound that made my hackles rise - loud, raucous calling from less than a quarter mile away, gunfire, wolves howling.

  Raiders. 

  I felt a long, slow grin spill across my face in a savage line that was usually reserved for taking out a den of Super Mutants, but I didn’t care. The frustration and confusion bubbling and roiling inside of me needed an outlet. I grabbed my laser rifle, my other hand shifting to find a pulse grenade. I was more than just a little ready for this perfectly presented outlet for my fury. 

  “In there, boys! Can’t you smell those bitches, ripe for the taking!” Laughter and excitement, as well as a slur of drunken stupor, spilled from the voice in the dark.

  “I hope it’s a set of beautiful bitches.”

  “Who, the wolves, or their sisters?”

  “Either!”

  My mouth twisted into a snarl.

  “I don’t care - I’ll fuck ‘em either way. Pussy or ass, it’s all one tight hole.”

  “Not when I’m done with--”

  I charged out of the bunker before they had a chance to finish their vile discussion, and I saw the sharp red line of my laser pistol take one of them in the face, sending their head exploding in a shower of blood and red dust. I heard the sharp, pained scream from the man’s wolf, but I didn’t have the time to feel guilty for it. I’d avoid killing the animals if I could, because they were simply following their instincts. The raiders would have done this regardless. I threw the grenade into the direction of their group, and felt my shoulder and side hit in tandem, as a rain of bullets hailed in my direction. The pain was immediate, but I would have to worry about it later. Even as it burned through me, creeping up along my spine to inform my brain that I was  _ hurt _ , I raised my arm and fired off more rounds. One, two, three whimpers of pain from wolves who were suddenly cut from their mental connection… but I could tell that there were at least half a dozen other raiders out in the darkness. I pulled back into the bunker just as another bullet spilled towards me, skimming the side of my face so that I could smell blood and hot metal. 

  They seemed to realize that something was standing in their way, and the closer to the bunker they came, the more that their wolves seemed to be in a frenzy for what was happening below. Foul mouths shouts were quickly deteriorating into threats of death, and I found that I simply didn’t care. I relished in the sudden violence, because it kept me from having to face what was going on downstairs… and I knew that I was going to have to do that soon, because there were too many men down there for Quinn and Silas to manage any level of comfort. For the moment, I focused on the imminent threat in front of me, raising my plasma rifle again with a shout.

 

\---

 

  I was spattered in blood, with more injuries than I wanted to account for. But the raiders were dead, and I was back downstairs, after having knocked out and dragged the scraggling Initiate who had gotten by me while I was fighting the Paladin. I don’t know what was so offensive about having seven men on Quinn and Silas instead of six, but I simply couldn’t take it. And now, all that I could do was sit vigilantly at the elevator doors and wait for the next round of men to come… because I was certain that they would. Maxson would send out more teams at dawn, and the only thing that I could hope for was that it was only one more team. Before then, I would have to clear out some of the others from the room, because I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to be able to keep all of the new squad from passing me either. The best that I could do was wait until the wolf and Brother pair collapsed from exhaustion, and drag them away. Still, even when I thinned two more out of their ranks, there were still four, happily tag teaming Quinn and Silas - the boys hadn’t gotten a moment of rest, and I could feel the aching, pain filled waves of lust that forced them to carry on like a palpable thing. 

  How was this something that anyone did voluntarily? I didn’t think that I could ever have a wolf, and I was starkly aware of the fact that I was pleased I’d never had to deal with this. Even in controlled situations… it seemed so… barbaric.

  A part of my gut wrenched - if I’d told the boys of Maxson’s plans earlier, maybe this wouldn’t be happening now. I didn’t have that luxury now, and it seemed that Quinn and Silas were paying the price of my loyalty to the Brotherhood of Steel. I’d never worried before about repercussions of my blind trust and faith…

  And I couldn’t worry about it now, because with the rising of dawn, a new howl spilled through the air, and I knew that more men were coming. The moans and groans from the back room hadn’t quelled. Quinn’s voice was hoarse with his shouts, and Silas’ fingers were mottled and shaking where they held tight to his lovers. Was there something left inside of him that was still sane enough to worry for Quinn? I had only a moment to turn my eyes, to see that he’d shifted his head, and that his blue hues were boring into Quinn’s wrenched, pleasure and pain filled features. His fingers squeezed tight, and I saw it there, in the depths of his eyes.

  I saw the question, and the answer all at once.  _ Are you okay? I’m still here.  _

  Love. I saw love, and something inside of me twisted and twinged, but I couldn’t think about it. I  _ couldn’t  _ think about it. Instead, I turned my attention to the elevator shaft, because I could hear the squeal of metal being forced open as the next squad tried to force their way below. When the elevator doors opened, I could hear the howling, furious growls from the cage where I’d locked the other men up, and I felt satisfied in the fact that I was the only one with a key, and the only way that they were getting it from me before this mess was over was through my dead body. 

  I wasn’t planning on dying today. 

  The first face that came through the elevator got the same treatment as I’d given his Brother’s above, a swift punch to the face, and his body being tossed behind me. The fullness of his weight made my muscles scream, as my body tried to remind me in a shocking burst of exhaustion and pain that I was injured, and going on a full day without sleep. It didn’t matter - it couldn’t matter. I still had a job to do. The wolf, a burly gray beauty, pounced through the door, and I caught the side of its head with the butt of my rifle, sending it skittering to the ground. I turned my face back to the elevator, and felt a wave of shock pulse through me.

  Crawling down, I recognized the wolf - he was smaller than some of the others, but with the softest pelt that I’d ever seen. Chocolate brown with golden eyes… Rhys called him Pryd, named after our ship the Prydwen. Coming in behind the chocolate colored beast was Rhys himself, with a look of desire and need so strong in his gaze that I immediately realized he didn’t recognize me. 

  “Rhys…” My voice was soft, and I actually heard a twinge of pain behind the tone. I wasn’t going to fight him, but at the same time, I couldn’t imagine seeing him and the boys… I couldn’t… but he didn’t look up to me when I called out his name, and he shoved past me with all of his strength. I didn’t resist, and I actually felt myself fall back as he dashed to the back room like a man made of lust and need incarnate, already tearing away his Knight uniform so that I saw a flash of his bare ass as he made it through the door. Strong, dirty hands seized the Knight from the first round of men and threw him off. Exhaustion seemed to win out, because the man sank against the wall… and Rhys sank deep into Silas’ ass, thrust up into the air and ready for his next partner. The grunt that spilled from Rhys was unlike anything that I’d ever heard before… and my shock let two more of the men spill past me before I forced my gaze to pull from the back room enough to realize that I still had a job to do. 

  I pushed myself into the elevator so that the next man that came down didn’t have a chance to touch feet to ground. My rifle but came up, catching him  beneath the chin - a scribe, he wasn’t prepared for the impact, and it was easy enough to give the same treatment to his wolf. I knew that the only person left in the squad was the Paladin, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him through.

  The sound of metal clanking on metal sent a wave of exhaustion pulsing through my body, a small, trembling shiver… but I was ready. I had to be ready. I pulled myself back, standing perfectly still… and when the Paladin and his wolf crashed down into the elevator, I threw myself forward. My fingers instantly twisted behind him, searching for the power core of his armor to rip out of the frame. If I didn’t manage to stop him, he wasn’t going in there with the damn armor on. I recognized the face - and again, my stomach wrenched.

  Carson - Carson, who Maxson had assigned me to squad with after Cutler’s death. I hadn’t let him close, because the pain of my loss was too fresh… but I’d still run with him for over a year. And now he was standing like a lust-filled beast in front of me, clawing out of his nonfunctional armor with a snarl. The massive black wolf that followed into the shaft after him snarled, grabbing my arm with his hard teeth to try to wrench me from the doorway. I didn’t know if I had the energy to stop them, or the strength.

  But I had to try anyway, because I could hear a low, keening whimper from Quinn’s throat that wasn’t altogether full of  _ need.  _ In the back of my mind, I was sure that their bodies were getting exhausted. And Carson… Carson had never been a gentle man. 

  “I’m sorry.” The words spilled from my lips, and I wasn’t sure who they were for. I brought my rifle down, and the sound of it firing off and taking Carson in the leg jolted through me like a sharp, hot sear of betrayal. 

  He collapsed forward… and then he started to crawl from the doors, still intent on his goal. 

  “Damn it.” The words spilled once more from my throat, and I stepped forward, my armor-clad foot coming to his back to halt his movements - the wolf was still on my arm, trying to wrench past me, and I jerked the arm plating off of my power armor frame and used the teeth set into it as momentum to sling the wolf against the wall. A low, sharp sound of pain as it slid to the floor, and Carson jerked around beneath me, the fury of feeling his brother wounded pulsing through the lust and sending him diving up after me. His fingers found my power core in a burst of movement that I didn’t expect - somehow, he was holding the weight of his body on his injured leg. I had to shift myself from my armor as he threw the vital energy core away to clatter against the wall. It was bare fist to face that caught him in the jaw, and I felt the pain of it rock through  me. His hand, in turn, caught me in the stomach… but my momentum sent me spiraling forward, and I dug fingers into the fresh wound on his leg.

  With a scream, he fell to the floor again, and I managed to crawl atop him and catch his hair in my hands enough to slam his head once, hard against the ground.

  And then he was still beneath my fingers, and I felt my body collapse backward, my breath struggling to catch in my chest. For a second, I couldn’t move, and it wasn’t just from the pain. My body ached, I was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood… but the sound of Quinn and Silas letting out yet another scream, and the moans that I recognized as Rhys were haunting in the back of my mind. Something very close to tears burned at my gaze, and I shoved myself up - what burned at my eyes fell freely from Silas’, hot thick tears that trailed from his crystal blue hues to track down his cheeks. 

  I couldn’t stop now - I couldn’t quit. I had to help  _ them _ . 

  “I’m sorry.” The words came out again, and this time I knew who they were for. 

 

\---

 

  I wasn’t sure how I had the energy to move the men into the second weapon locker, but I did. Carson was already coming to, and I had the decency to throw a few stimpaks into the locker with them before closing and locking the door behind me. I hoped that this was the last round, that Maxson would have gotten the picture by now. I realized that he would probably be waiting for a report, and I would do nothing but tell him the truth - the heat had come early, and I did my best to keep Silas King and Quinn pure, but there were too many squads for me to fend off completely. 

  He would either praise me or demote me, and at the moment, I didn’t care which it was. I only cared for the fact that I could hear more voices in the distance, and my body was far too exhausted to deal with raiders. I still pulled my gun up, ready for the fight that I knew was coming as the sun slowly started to sink below the horizon. Day two, and none of us had gotten any rest; my wounds and exhaustion seemed superfluous in comparison to what Quinn and Silas must have been feeling. It was that guilt and furious righteousness that gave me the strength to carry on, because the elevator doors were open now, and I could hear them below.

 

\---

 

  Dawn, and my body ached. Dawn, and the sound from the lower level was still going. I’d pulled a few of the men away a group of four altogether, but opening the cage only let two of the ones that I’d already pulled away scramble back down the stairs, so the respite that I’d meant to give Quinn and Silas was halved. I took what strength I had left to completely bar the door up - I didn’t think that Maxson was going to send another group, so much so that I put a few frag mines in front of the elevator entrance, in case of raiders. I couldn’t stay upstairs - as much as I wanted to stay away from the sound of panting and moaning, I couldn’t. I owed it to Silas and Quinn to be there with them, whether I wanted to hear it or not. I could only hope that things were going to die down today, but I wasn’t sure. Three to four days for a heat, but surely the goal had been achieved, and Seraphina and Valeriya would soon quell their desire. The bitches were certainly getting their pleasure, their needs clearly being met over and over again. Surely their bodies would soon recognize the inevitability that they’d attained their goal.

  I didn’t know. I had no damn clue how all of this worked, and I could only guess. Or pray.

  Probably the latter.

  I wanted to close my eyes and take a moment to rest, but it seemed wrong. I was just as vested in this as Silas and Quinn, and if they couldn’t rest… I certainly couldn’t either. I owed it to them, because I silently felt like this was utterly and completely my fault.

  The pain that sent tears tracking down Silas’ cheeks was my fault, and I wasn’t going to let myself rest when they could not.

  Instead, I made my way back down the stairs, ready to watch for the moment when the moaning began to fade… and silently hoping that it would come sooner rather than later. 

 

\---

 

  I didn’t know how many hours had passed, other than the fact that the men had each had a decent amount of rest between them. There was a part of me that was disgusted with the fact that they got to rest, while tag teaming the boys, but I managed to pull another two out of the group while it happened. The first sign that things were beginning to calm was the fact that two of the men, still awake, turned and actually  _ looked  _ at me. 

  “Paladin Danse?” It was Rhys' voice, and I found that I couldn’t make myself look him in the eyes. I could hear the confusion in his voice, which was quickly being overtaken with the realization of what had happened. Even as he spoke, I could still hear the sound of his body thrusting and working, finishing what it had started so that his next question was interrupted by the cry of his pleasure being met - I let my head lean against the coolness of the elevator door, and I stayed that way, facing from what was happening… until I heard footsteps approach me. 

  “Paladin--”

  “Start getting the men out of here, Knight Rhys. That’s an order.” My voice was clipped, harsh, and I knew that he had to understand at least in part as to why I sounded the way that I did. If nothing else, he could equate it to exhaustion, because I couldn’t imagine what my face looked like. I felt him standing behind me for a moment, and then heard his body slid into a salute.

  “Yes, sir.” 

  At least, I was going to have a bit of help now. One more cry of pleasure let me know that the last man standing was finished, and then there was the whispering of fur, and Rhys’ voice spilling out sharp orders to  _ get up  _ and  _ get out.  _ I stepped away from the elevator, punching the button with enough force to feel my knuckles cry in protest… but the door was open, and the men were moving, and finally… finally, there was no longer the sound of aching moans and growls of ecstasy. 

  The silence was almost deafening.     
  When Rhys, last to shuffle into the elevator, gave me a long look, I closed the door with a groan, cutting him off from whatever he was about to say. I didn’t want to think about it. He’d just woken up from a good six-hour rest - he’d have the strength to carry out my orders and get everyone  _ out  _ of the bunker. When I heard the elevator shift upward, I pulled open the control panel and flipped the switch, turning off its power supply so that no one else could come below. 

  I wanted to rest… but I couldn’t. Not yet. Instead, my exhausted legs carried me forward. Curled in the corner around one another, Valeriya and Seraphina seemed exhausted but content. I glared at the wolves for just a moment, but I wasn’t really angry with them. I think I was simply trying to avoid facing what was waiting for me when I turned my head.

  Covered in sweat, filth, gun oil and semen, Silas and Quinn had finally collapsed into a damn near coma of exhaustion against the bed. They looked pale and flush all at once, and I let out a small sound. “I’m so sorry…”

  But I wasn’t done yet. There was still more to do. I went to my power armor, rifling for a moment through my supplies. I came back with water and rags, and spent the next twenty minutes wiping them clean as best I could. When they woke, at least they wouldn’t be filthy. My arms were exhausted as I picked up first Silas and then Quinn. I ripped the sheet from the mattress and flipped the filthy, sex stained rectangle over. Only when I was sure that it was a cleaner side, and I had laid strips of clean fabric against it did I gently pick the two boys up again to lay them on the bed. When I tried to pull Quinn’s hand from Silas, the older man let out a small growl. 

  Even in his sleep, he wasn’t letting him go. 

  It took some maneuvering, but I managed to get them both onto the bed again. My next move was to force their heads up and into my lap - chapped lips suckled greedily even in their sleep at the water that I poured down their throat. I sat, spilling two bottles each into their stomachs, but I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to last much longer. The last thing that I could do was pull two clean uniforms from a locker and drape it over their bodies, covering them the best I could. I could feel dizziness and exhaustion eating away at the last of my strength - all that I could do was take a second to brush a strand of black hair, slicked with water, from Quinn’s forehead.    I’d done all I could for them, I’d kept them as safe as I could… and I’d cleaned them up after. I just hoped that they could forgive me when they woke… when we woke…  I felt myself falling forward, curled against the bed… and I didn’t have the strength to pick myself up before sleep sucked me down like some dark, demanding mistress that I no longer had the strength to fight. 

 


End file.
